Ranking The Rockies: 23 Tommy Kahnle

We at BSN Denver are running a series where we rank how valuable each of the Colorado Rockies’ 51 players was to the team in 2015. Value was calculated by statistics, viewing, and how memorable each player’s contributions were. The rankings will be from last to first, you may view the full rankings (here)

Player: Tommy Kahnle

Stats: 36 G, 33.1 IP, 0-1, 4.48 ERA, 1.77o WHIP, 4.48 FIP, 97 ERA+, 10.53 K/9, 7.56 BB/9, 10 Holds, 2 Saves, -0.1 WAR

Big Moment: June 20, the Rockies are at home with the Brewers visiting. With a 3-1 lead, Walt Weiss turns the ball over to Kahnle. Chad Bettis leaves the rubber in the 7th inning giving Kahnle two baserunners, but Bettis had pitched a great game. With one out, Kahnle on the first pitch facing Jonathan Lucroy induces a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. In the bottom half, the Rockies tacked on two more, and on three days of rest the eighth was also Kahnle’s. He induces three more groundballs, the first being an out, the second a single, and the third another 5-4-3 double play. All in all, he pitched 1.2 innings allowing only one hit while inducing two double plays and all groundballs. The Rockies won 5-1.

Season Recap: He played in 21 games for Albuquerque along with the 36 he played for the Rockies. For the ‘Topes, he had a 4.67 ERA in 27 IP while striking out more than one batter an inning. Last year he didn’t play at all in the minors coming over from the Yankees as a Rule-5 pick. When he did this he skipped the AAA level but he did throw in 54 games for the Rockies in 2014 with an okay ERA of 4.19. This season his walk rate increased almost twofold while he also seemed to be more hittable despite increasing his strikeout rate. At one point briefly in 2015 he was the closer, showcasing his plus velocity and movement. Notably striking out NL MVP Bryce Harper for his first career save. With a fastball that can touch 98 and a wipeout slider at 85, the 25-year old showed he had the capabilities of being an elite reliever, however, his control just wasn’t there.

What’s Ahead: On Friday the Rockies designated him for assignment which means every single team will have a chance at the right-handed reliever. His career with the Rockies is more than likely over.